{"id":8527,"date":"2020-10-07T17:21:26","date_gmt":"2020-10-07T21:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/?p=8527"},"modified":"2021-03-10T11:45:56","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T16:45:56","slug":"customize-app-icons-ios-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/originals\/customize-app-icons-ios-14\/","title":{"rendered":"How (and Why) to Customize Your iPhone App Icons in iOS 14"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

In iOS 14, Apple\u2019s latest software update, the tech giant is giving iPhone users the unprecedented power to customize. The new widget function allows for varied sizes and shapes of home page app icons, and as time goes on, the options for widgets continue to expand. But the real eye-rasier for some creatives is that users can now customize any app icon with an image of their choice or with an Apple preset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the process isn\u2019t straightforward, you don\u2019t have to be a hacker or a Pentagram partner to give your home screen the personal touch that it\u2019s been lacking. And further, there are some surprising benefits to changing the look of your app icons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, about that\u2026 Why are people doing this, anyway?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a fair question. What might compel someone to redesign their smartphone app icons? It\u2019s a fairly involved process, and brands spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to design a perfect icon for their apps. Why change them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Unify and Organize<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For many looking to customize their icons with iOS 14, there\u2019s the appeal of total visual unification\u2014matching the aesthetic of every app icon on the home screen, including the ones the Apple didn\u2019t design. For example, the Instagram and Mario Kart Tour<\/em> icons don\u2019t have any aesthetic appeal next to each other, but now, you can change that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The average smartphone home screen is a barrage of color. Yellows and blacks and reds and blues and greens all fight for every second of your precious attention. You can settle that home screen down a bit for an experience that\u2019s a bit easier on the eyes by unifying the look of each of your icons. You could even color-code certain apps, grouped by importance or type, to make finding things easier.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Get Some Jokes Off<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, some people might just like to use the opportunity to express themselves more fully. Favorite color\u2019s blue? Slap that shade on every icon you\u2019ve got. Are you a bit of a jokester? You can follow in this Twitter user\u2019s footsteps and change every icon to a picture of that brand\u2019s founder\u2026 which serves the dual purpose of further exposing the glaring lack of diversity<\/a> in technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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@JoannaStern<\/a> @reckless<\/a> @karaswisher<\/a> @CaseyNewton<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/C3VmGwbpFs<\/a><\/p>— mcharo (@mcharo) September 22, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>